some subject matter may contain very white skin this post is rated pg13

Early morning gym with afternoon talking/eating at the fams store.Text Jacob at 4:30 asking if he would like to snowshoe, he denied and said he wanted to ride.So I started to put my "tech gear" on.

The base layer-Smart wool sock (which turned out to be not so smart my feet were cold), bib shorts,long sleeve spandex.

Next-long spandex,Rocky issue top for easy I-phone holding/warming-Better veiwFinal addition is the Louis G wind break
So after I was suited up I hopped on the Cannondale and started my ride to H to the stone or for you non gangta's Hawkstone. Ride there was good,only misplaced where I was once so that was sweet.Met up with Jacob and headed towards Barrie up some road which I cant be bothered to remember.Car's for the most part were friendly, only had one car who refused to pass on a 1km straight and no oncoming traffic but thought honking at us was the solution.About 5 kms to Barrie my hands were freezing so I took a lesson right out of boy cubs and stuck my hands down my spandex, good for the hand bad for other parts.We also decided to go to Liz's house for a Hot Hannah (hot coco and fireball).On a street that could be called James but might not be called James we ran into a flock of runners who at the bottom of the hill decide to cross the street in front of us with out looking, Jacob locked up the rear tire and yelled "if I was in my car you'd be dead" and we continued on.Arrived at Lizes was handed a Hot Hannah and discovered we conveniently arrived as two turkey's were being carved up by Jeremy.We sat down,I gave Tammy hives then we left for the ride home.Ride back we went out to hard so we cooled it down Jacob left me at Hawkstone so I continued to ride back home by myself praying not to be raped by a guy named buba.Thankfully I didnt get raped but did slip on some ice fell off my bike and landed on my bum.....


That was long sorry I got inpatient at the end.cheers and happy new year

I feel it and I dont like it

Today I work up with a stuffy feeling head, like Andrew I also get a cold around the same time of year.I guess nothing says happy new year like a cold.So I decided to take today's work out indoors making it the first trainer ride of the training season.I finished the Garmin set up on the rocky and opened the window for some circular air, then started the warm up before the 2hr program.After the fairly decent ride I jumped in the Subaru and headed down to the Metro for some anti flu stuff.My list was as follows Oranges, echinacea enriched green tea, echinacea, Advil and Creemore Springs urBock to wash it all down.To finish the healing Im logging in some House time and maybe some Top Gear later gators.

GSc10 cadence speed sensor.

stompapy, stomp, stomp over the hills we go!

Tonights MNS gathering was filled with laughter,tricks and pain.Driving to the snowshoe was where the adventure began.The hurricane force winds and the flying snow made for quite the drive and not knowing where I was going added nicely to it aswell.Upon arrival a face I hadn't seen at a MNS in months pulled up beside my car and rolled down his window,I said"hey Jeremy" and he said "hey Tristan" then we parked. One by one the group pulled in,then there was some small talk,Tammy complaining about the cold then off we went.Since we were playing by Jacob and Liz's rules we didn't follow a marked path which only lead into a immediate group separation of Jacob, Liz, Ben and I in one and the other six and two dogs in the other.Our group well waiting for the other to catch up participated in log slides,360 spins and hill sprints.While the other group was.....doing things.After the re-group we continued on, as we found fallen trees we would try a log slide or simply trying to hop to the next one.When we weren't doing that we were being led into a thick sapling forest where I received a massive beating to the face.The majority of the group (group B) didn't like this so they stopped following Ben, Jacob and I (group A) and we went separate ways.Group "A" thought we could get a jump on group "B" so we attempted to get in front of group "B" to scare them, which we did in the form of if we were in Man Tracker.They said they saw us due to the reflective strips on our coats but I think when we came flying over the fence we spooked them good.Snowshoe was good I had a blast till next time stay classy.

peace

There is a lot of family visits that go along with this holiday so today was a automatic rest day.I was going to post this last night but couldn't remember the albums name to do so.I remembered today and the albums name is called playing for peace and it's a group of people that went around the world joining different musicians together in their own environments.Some pretty neat stuff if you ask me.

song of the day is Stand by me by playing for peace.

Feeling Guilty

So arrived home from my family dinner and logged onto the net to read what was the happy hap in the cycling world.I started to read the usual blogs and noticed something similar in all which was they all seemed to be training during the xmas holiday.So at 11:00pm in the pouring rain I decided it was a fantastic idea to go for a ride and while I was out I thought I might as well test the new heart rate monitor a Garmen 405.Riding in the rain wasn't bad,the temperature good and the traffic other than a police man who almost ran me down was almost non existent. I was feeling confident and was starting to take corners faster but there was a problem with that, the road underneath my tires was pure ice.So I fell and slid,then slid some more and after I slid I slid even further until the icy watery road completely soaked me and I stopped.I jumped back on,looked around to see if any one saw me and road on.This was only about 20 minutes into the ride so I plugged on towards some back road riding.Other than it being really dark even with my head lamp the back roads started off not to bad.In fact I even started enjoying myself until the pavement turned back into ice, and the roads started to dip into down hill sections.This only meant that I was now back to fighting with the bike trying to keep it straight, only this time I was going much faster. Successfully I managed but just.Not only did I get a good tempo ride I also got a lot of practice clipping and unclippping the peddles. I didn't have a chance to look at the Garmen but I think it will work well for me and I don't want to hear any smack about having gps on my watch.

Next few day of training

So for the next couple days I think I will include a carb loading diet.I started the diet today by picking up some of my favorite brews for the family festivities.The LCBO was pack full so I didn't even bother and just went to The Beer Store.On the menu for the next couple days is some Mill Street Organic and Mill Street Tank Ale, a little taste of a Toronto brewery.I also plan on making a tour of my family xmas dinners and friends to get those extra carbs in.Merry xmas to all.

Tuesday....

Early morning gym followed by a late night gym today.Work outs consisted of core and legage. Hopefully my gym membership will pay for it's self when I start washing my cloths on my very own washboard.The plan for today was to get out for a ride but since xmas is very close my parental units needed my assistance in the down town Orillia Quaker Oaks Farm store so the ride was pushed to the side.Which is not a bad thing I guess, it's getting a bit on the chilly side and i'm not really feelin it.Wing's and a cold carb beverage is on order tonight mmmmm good night.

More stomping

Tonight the MNS met at Copeland for some more trumpin around on snow shoes.With Liz and Jacob at the lead we went off the beaded path and into the jungle,well a snowy -14 jungle.We travelled up ravines then slid down them,over logs then slid down them and chatted about the usual gossip.All in all a good walk under the stars.

Reveiws,stuff and things

So I headed down to Guelph or as I call it "G-town" to get into the xmas spirit with some good friends.During the first day we had to kill 3 hours until the party began so what better way to do so than to go watch a $500,000 film made by a Canadian trucker.That's right Avatar.Now there has been a lot of hype about this film and I was really looking forward to seeing it.Unfortunately James Cameron spent $499,980 on the making of the film and a 20 spot on the script. James concept was brilliant and film quality was top notch but the script was just pack full of cheesy one liners.Avatar was the main character (Sam Worthington)first major film and his acting was just not good.The Avatar portion of the film was fantastic but once they went back to the human side it pulled you out of the movie and filled your brain with cheese.Anyways it is a must see, go to the washroom before you enter and enjoy, it's unlike any other film.

Not to much sleep last night but I hadnt been on the bike for a couple days so I sucked it up and hit the road.The ride started at six so it was dark and getting down in temp but being all that is man I logged in 1:40 of traffic dogging riding and called it a night.Fingers got really cold so I stopped by Quaker Oaks Farm for a coco mint tea with a table spoon of honey to warm them up. now I am going to make some pasta.

thump thump thump

Tonight the MNS group went to copland forest to trump around on over size shoes.Since I didn't know where the heck I was going I asked Jacob and Lizard to meet me at Abbots of Craighurst, a little Quaker restaurant on the four corners of well you guessed it Craighurst. I arrived at the restaurants parking lot first so I turned my car off (not to save the environment but gas) and waited for Jacobs arrival. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted two head lights coming at Spak pace into the parking lot followed with a E-brake turn around.Jacob was there.We headed back into the blizzard and onto the road which would take us to the parking lot where we all were meeting for the snowshoeing.Not really plowed the road made for some dicey driving but the Subaru took control over the situation.We pulled into the parking lot,which is a huge lot separated down the middle by tree's.Jacob was the first to try to go around the tree's in his front wheel drive Accent, me the second and we both put the power down to push our little cars through the two feet of snow.Jacob only did one lap (afraid he might not get out if he got stuck)I though did a couple more trying to drift around the corner and see how far I could push my car.Unfortunately there was just too much snow and it was just not fun enough so I pulled off. We waited for the next arrival.There was talk of snowballing who ever came but I guess we got a little distracted.Andrew was the next to arrive fully decked out in a plaid jacket and some sort of rodent on his head,he was very confident in the Mazda and went into the deep to park behind Jacob.Successfully I might add.As we were asking where the heck was Matt two blue lights very not Spakish crawled in the driveway.He also did a lap in the Audi but like always das Germans facked it up.The car is to smart for its own good.

The riiii... snowshoe report

Well it was snowshoeing Matt wrecked the trails more snowshoeing than he would riding,I still can't corner even tho I am not riding,we learnt you can't sneak up on people with reflective gear on and Lizard is more of a man then we are.

The drive home was limited to 80kms due to snow on my wheels causing some major vibrations. Price to pay for fun I guess.

The returning of the heart rate monitor.

Not a hole lot happened today just an hour at the gym in the morning and a hour twenty on the bike returning Jacob's HR monitor to him at Hardwood Ski and Bike.I'm kind of liking this winter riding business, it seems drivers are much more careful.Not once did I almost get hit today. Almost every time I ride Old Barrie RD some A-hole try's to play chicken or see how close they can get to the guy in tights on a bicycle.The ride it's self turned out great nice weather the temp did drop about half way home.All in All I don't really see my self on the trainer this winter.Or that is the thought anyway.Here are a couple pics from the ride.

Testing of other sorts...(I wrote this to late and didn't go over it may have spelling and gramer errors)

Bright and early this morning I logged on to the Louis G dealer page to check if my winter gear had arrived at The Bike Stop and sure enough it had.The plan was to get some breakfast, head down to the shop, get the gear and test her out on the open roads.As usual there is always something that come up which postpones my rides.

Katrina a employee of Quaker Oaks Farm (my parents store on main street Orillia and in Sebright) sends me a text explaining how she has a hair appointment and needs someone to cover for her.So being the nice guy I am and a man who can appreciate a good hair cut I accepted. Now my Parents have had this business since 1998 and I might if I am lucky have worked in it 10 times.I ride bicycle, fix bicycles and sell bicycles that's about it.My mom made my lunch up until I called her a doll two years ago (not one of my best moments).So when I am in the store and I have to make Stuffed olives,cut fresh cheeses I'm a bit out of my element.The gift portion of the store isn't bad, It's kind of like selling bicycles.Back to the point,I didn't get out of the store until 9:00 which meant it was dark and snowy.Being me I disregarded the blizzard went to the shop grab the new Louis G gear (booties,beanie,mits) and gave them a test.

The Test-so the conditions were snowy,windy,icy roads, night and -7 with out wind chill.I had a BLT front one LED flashing light and a rear flashing light.Duration was about one hour going in and out of the head winds, climbing up and down Orillia.The mits are fingered but with a cover which turn them into lobster claws.Only my thumb was cold which a will accept.beanie kept the ears warm.Last of all the booties lasted longer than a ride,kept my feet warm and are just to clever to say anything bad about.All in all first impressions of the new gear is a 8.5.

Tested

I was going to post yesterday but I got into a little bit of a movie marathon which didn't end until 3:00am.So im posting now.

Yesterday I didn't really do to much of anything during the day, just a couple Tin Tin episodes, picking up my new bike up and finding a heart rate monitor for my testing.

So lets start with the new ride, well new to me.It's a Cannondale touring bike which is fully loaded with fenders,rack and xtr ultegra equipped.The plan for the bike is to be my winter bike then in the fall I will pass it down to Jacob for a cross bike.Apparently the owner of the bike died and the daughter didn't want it so she sold it to the Bike Stop for $100.00, which isn't to bad for xtr if you ask me.I will most likely give it a test later today and give a field report.

Now to the testing.I haven't done one for 4 years and kinda forgot what they felt like.C02 max was a quick reminder and the wattage test was the icing.Being two competitive cyclists Jacob and I bet on who would get the better power to weight ratio.I gave it my all and pushed 380 watts but it wasn't good enough I needed more.So im hitting the trainer hard and Heather Stanley is the women who is going to get me to my next level in cycling.So for next season I'll be in tip top fitness with loads of power and turning ability of a 13 year old...maybe I should be a roadie.

Skiers be warned

The day started out with a little YMCA training action seeing if I want to switch gyms or not.I do like the pool but is it worth all the people??I guess I will have to figure it out.After the Y Jacob and I headed down to The Bike Stop and shopped for winter gear,like mits, beanie's,tights and booties, 200 hundred bucks later we left the shop and went our separate ways, me off to the 8th and him to somewhere not riding bikes...

Ride Report-

The parking lot hadn't been plowed and was in perfect shape for the Subaru to do some serious drifting but I didn't have a camera man so the footage wouldn't have been very good. The ground is very frozen now, with about 4-5 inches of snow covering it.Traction was a little loose for the most part and a lot loose climbing the hills.So I took a hint from one of my favorite T.V programs
and let almost all the air out of my tires.(there might have been 15 psi in each tire).I like this time of year I get to spot different tracks in the snow,For instance wild fox,wild rabbit,wild moose and a wild skier.That's correct on the back half I was following ski tracks which I think is a little early of him/her.So I made it back to the car with no broken bones,tired legs from running some hills and a viper that hasn't failed me yet.Here are some pics...

The snowy one take 2

Ride Report:

Jacob, Andrew and I headed onto the snow covered trails around 8:00pm at a temperature of about -2.We continued on our usual loop listening to the sound of the frozen ground crackaling beneth our tires. The pace was fairly strong, considering the circumstances (snow covered ground, -2 ,snow falling from the sky and other things...).I was feeling good, nice smooth cornering and somewhat decent flow, which is becoming a lot more usual lately.Fingers were a little chilly for the flat sections but warmed up on the second half when we got into the hills. Andrew took us on a new old trail which was full of sweet T&T corners,nice log ramps,sharp spears on fallin trees and a bit of fresh powder to take it to that manly level.Trail rating would have to be 9.5 tiger woods cheating on wife and me not caring's......which means we should put it in the loop,it diffidently adds a good mix for the end of the ride. We finished the ride hard and showed the forest who's boss.Hopefully we can get a couple more in before the snowshoes are broken out and the bike put away.

Tomorrow I might load up the single speed and head to the 8th hopefully spend some quality time with my mtb before I leave her for the winter...


Id like to shout out to Jacob and say thanks for drivin me to the coffee shop for my brownie and cappuccino with Cinnamon and chocolate sprinkles.

Song of the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zY9Oa5DZj4

spak fest

Woke up this morning expecting a nice ride with a mix of sun and maybe some snow flakes but when I looked out the window I saw 4 inches of snow on the ground and more falling from the sky. I thought I was in for a different kind of ride, So I got on the phone to Matt and he told me that Andrew told him that it was sunny and clear in Barrie. So I loaded up the Giant FCR 2 equipped with Kenda Kwest tires and hit the road.HWY 11 started out with a 3 vehicle crash, one of which was missing the front right wheel.Arrived at the school and waited while Matt and Andrew got ready (or they waited while I got ready, the cold has clouded my memory a tad).A couple highlights from the ride are... I rode on water,during a standard front wheel brake test I didn't realize Matt was behind me and took him out,we rode through what some might call hurricane level winds,went downhilling on 700c tires and almost got dropped by a girl on a Kona MTB.all in all good ride.

Tomorrow's Monday night ride should be the first ride at night in the snow or at least I hope...

two uneployed and a teacher

Last night I fell asleep at 7:30 so I was unable to speak of my adventures.I headed out to the 8th for a ride in the snow with Jacob and test out my legs for spakfest on Sunday.Being both unemployed we can head out biking at 3:00 with no worries but when we saw Tammy role down the drive we looked at each other and laughed.She explained to us that she was changing into her kit even before the bell rang.The ride started slow then picked up to a nice warming pace.The hills were slick and logs slicker but single track was surprisingly gripy.Crash count was only one and that was only because I was looking at the sand pit covered in snow then hit a half broken log bridge causing me to fly over the bars like three hundred feet into the brush. The ride ended with some car fun in the parking lot and someone drawing a cock on my car....

The begining

Welcome to the new digs.I have recently decided to start up a blog to inform whom ever reads it what I am up to.How does one decide to start a blog you ask. Well for me It popped into my head about 9:30pm while I was spinning the legs out in the newly set up training room.For those of you who haven't experienced riding a bicycle in a 10x10 room you have a lot of time to think of new and creative ways to occupy your time...The blog is my first.gotta sleep so ill write more later.cheers